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- Kutlug Ataman was born in 1961 in Istanbul. He graduated from the Lycee of Galatasaray and Mimar Sinan University. He studied drama and film at the University of California in Los Angeles, graduating with a Master of Fine Arts in 1988. He worked for several years in Turkey and in Germany, and he moved to London in 1999.
His video installations have been displayed at various exhibits in New York, London (The Serpentine Gallery, Barbican Art Gallery, Tate Britain) and other cities in Europe. He has received worldwide acknowledgment in this field. He is the first Turkish artist to have participated in Documenta 11, one of the most prestigious exhibit in contemporary arts. He is also the first Turkish artist to have his artwork exhibited in the Museum of Modern Arts collection and in the collections of world's most prestigious museums.
His short film, La Fuga, was screened at many international film festivals and won both the CINE Golden Eagle Award and First Prize at the New York International Film Exposition in 1988, as well as a Certificate of Merit from the Chicago Film Festival in 1989. His first feature film, Karanlik Sular (The Serpent's Tale, 1993), was an experimental piece that juxtaposed several forces encapsulating the crisis of contemporary Turkish culture. In 1997, Ataman directed an eight-hour video, Kutlug Ataman's Semiha B. Unplugged, on one of the legendary opera singers of Turkey, who was persecuted for her affair with the exiled communist poet Nazim Hikmet. Semiha Berksoy, an eccentric octogenarian, served as the subject as well as the shining star of this candid film, which was presented in
several important art biennials and film festivals. Ataman's 1998 film Lola und Bilidikid looks at the transvestite subculture inside the Turkish guest-worker community in Berlin; the 49th International Berlin Film Festival awarded the film its 1999 Teddy Bear Award. His screenplay for "Palto" was selected for the European Pitch Point and presented at the 2003 Berlin Film Festival and at the Euroforum 2003, and received the Balkan Film Fund award. Same year, Kutlug Ataman was selected as the best artist by the Observer. He was one of four candidates for the Turner Prize 2004 of the Tate Britain for his works, "Never my soul" and "The 4 Seasons of Veronica Read". His project "Cuba" received the 2004 Carnegie Prize award in the U.S.
2 Girls is his third feature film.
Filmography:
2 Girls (2 Genc Kiz, 2005)
The 4 Seasons of Veronica Read (Documentary, 2002)
Never my soul (Ruhumu Asla) (Documentary, 2000)
- Semiha B. Unplugged (Documentary, 1999)
- Women with Wigs (Peruk Takan Kadinlar)
(Documentary, 1999)
- Lola and Bilidikid (1998):
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Berlin Film Festival, Special Jury Prize
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Oslo Film Festival, Grand Prize
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New Festival New York, Best Film
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Mediterranean Films Festival - Cologne, Best
Director, Best Second Film
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18th Istanbul International Film Festival, Hurriyet
People's Award
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SIYAD, Best Supporting Male Actor Award (Celal
Perk)
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Ankara International Film Festival, Best Director
Award
The Serpent's Tale (Karanlik Sular, 1994):
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Ankara International Film Festival Special Jury
Prize
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36th Antalya Film Festival Best Supporting Female
Actor Award (Inge Keller)
- La Fuga (Short, 1988):
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New York International Film Exhibit First Prize;
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Washington DC Cine Competition Golden Eagle Award,
Best Film;
Chicago Film Festival Special Prize
- Hansel and Gretel (Short, 1985)
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